Ghost in the Shell Is A Watershed Moment In Anime History

Overview: In a futuristic, cyberpunk world where humanity has become interconnected through the net, a team of public-security officers seek an elusive hacker known as the Puppetmaster who can hack into people’s brains, erase their memories, and control them. Anchor Bay Entertainment; 1995; Rated R; 83 minutes.

Where the Devil’s In: During the second or third watch of Mamoru Oshii’s Ghost in the Shell, you start to notice odd, delightful details that you’d missed the first time. Details like how despite the film taking place in a futuristic universe where people can swap their brains into robot bodies, transmit their consciousnesses into the net, and remotely brainwash innocent bystanders, the general populace still relies on public phone booths and computer terminals for communication. Details like how the animators eschewed their meticulous, hyperrealistic depiction of its cyberpunk setting for such expressionistic flourishes as slow-moving garbage trucks literally flying a few feet off the ground while going over hills the size of speed bumps. Details like the main character Major Motoko Kusanagi—a full-bodied cyborg with only her brain remaining from her original body—having nipples on her robot body despite having no genitalia.

We notice these things because Ghost in the Shell gives us a world we can truly enter as spectators and then strands us there. For a cyberpunk police procedural full of graphic action sequences featuring a buxom female protagonist who does her fighting either in skin-tight skivvies or totally nude, it’s a film of mood and ideas, atmosphere and existential dilemmas. Take one of the most striking scenes in the film. During an investigation into the activities of the murderous Puppet Master—a world-famous hacker who infiltrates people’s brains while jacked into the net, brainwashes them, gives them new memories and personalities, and programs them to do his bidding—Kusanagi takes a river ferry through the heart of an unnamed city the filmmakers based on Hong Kong. As she drifts through canals studded with strange, bizarre advertisements in odd, unreadable languages, she notices cyborg civilians who selected the same robot body as the one she has. Who are these people? What are their lives like? Could they represent possible lives Kusanagi could have chosen if she hadn’t become a cop? And then, near the end, she sees another similar robot body used as a storefront mannequin. Is there any difference between herself and that mannequin? Does her having a consciousness, a “ghost” in her “shell” of a body, make her actually alive? All of these things are inferred without a single line of dialogue. It’s one of the most transcendent moments in cinema, and that is not hyperbole. It’s a scene that reaches into your mind, shakes loose the cords holding it all together, and rewires the way you look at the world and yourself.

When I Was a Child, I Talked Plot Exposition Like a Child: There are several more dialogue-less sequences like these throughout Ghost in the Shell. They are easily the best part of the film. In fact, they’re almost too good for the rest of the movie. It’s also during the second or third watch that you realize just how clunky, forced, and obtuse the rest of the movie is. Much of the philosophizing that helped make the film such a monumental, ground-breaking hit both in Japan and abroad are just that: philosophizing. More than once the characters, who I remind you are cops chasing a deadly terrorist, literally stop what they’re doing and just chat about the nature of life and consciousness, occasionally peppering their conversations with Bible verses. The plot itself is told almost entirely through tedious expository plot dumps. At one point one of the characters explains a good chunk of the plot to Kusanagi because she “arrived two hours late” to the police briefing. It’s the kind of stuff that makes George Lucas’ screenwriting in the Star Wars prequels seem like Paul Schrader.

Overall:Ghost in the Shell is one of the few true watershed moments of anime here in the West, rivaling the impact of the original Astro Boy television show, Katsuhiro Ôtomo’s Akira, and the Saturday morning one-two punch of Dragon Ball Z and Sailor Moon. The film was directly responsible for inspiring a new generation of filmmakers, such as The Wachowskis (who modeled much of The Matrix after it), James Cameron, and Steven Spielberg. The film itself went on to inspire several sequels, a hit television series, and a big-budget Hollywood remake starring Scarlett Johansson as Kusanagi. Despite all the problems with its cumbersome storytelling, it’s essential viewing, if only for all the delicate quiet moments that make you wonder what it’s like to be truly human. If you’ve never seen it before, you might want to pick up the new SteelBook Blu-ray edition being released this month. Though it doesn’t have any special features, the transfer is drop-dead gorgeous. It’s quite possibly the best way to watch it besides on a big screen.

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I have watched this movie nearly 100 times. Less than 80 but definitely over 60.

Like any film or book (especially a philosophical book), several viewings and some formal analysis will ALWAYS lead to a better understanding of what the author intended and how.

Ghost in the Shell is not, as you say “full of plot dumps”. You will find upon extensive studying that it is written not unlike the way a philosopher writes a book.

Basically it repeats and demonstrates its points several times across scenes, as do all philosophers in their own treatise, using the structure of the arguments presented to structure the treatise itself. Using the structure to demonstrate the thesis is very convincing because it acts as an almost mathematical evidence of the thesis, also called logic (math in word form). It’s a very scientific approach because it gives the resigning a repeatable outcome that suggest “truth”, a major theme for any philosopher, including Mamorou Oshii.

It’s clever because narrative film structure already does something similar to communicate the directors vision, but Oshii uses that structure as an opportunity to visually demonstrate a philosophical point with scenario as evidence in a mystery/police/detective story.

These narrative and cinematic decisions Oshii makes eventually reveal something even more clever than choosing 2d animated film rather than live action to communicate a story about a “celluloid doll” with a soul: Genre. Once we understand that philosophy is an important element for this director (and this is very quickly made apparent), we can look further into the work and understand how genre reinforces his purposes here.

And the genre he uses to demonstrate his philosophical points? :a detective story where evidence (faith) is a key theme and a detective tool in the film for advancing the plot (treatise) contextually and thematically.

‘Evidence’ is a theme used to talk about faith (ie whispers in the ghost) as a means to trust in ones identity where even ones own body and environment causes doubt.

The detective genre is an exposition to simply have a philosophical discourse on ‘truth’ but it does not recklessly unfold. Detectives gradually reveal more and more of a mystery with each new discovery brought about by evidence or clues. But as new information arises, new doubts and questions arise.

It is stated in this film that when things are virtual all truth and reality comes into question because information (data) is rendered both real and fantasy at once. This would naturally make any future detective doubtful of all evidence and even ones own thoughts and intuition because at this point in the future even a soul is data that can be altered, like evidence. This is the significance of the lines where the major talks about instinct and variety with Togusa and especially the whispers in her ghost where her “leads” are based on no evidence. Then there is the moment where she doubts her own identity in the elevator before the Puppet Master introduces itself. She says to Batou that she only believes in her “self” based on her environments but if she can’t trust her environment how can she trust who she actually is? Batou shuts down her doubt and reminds her to have faith in her “ghost,” without explicitly saying this, because they have a will.

If by now it does not occur to the viewer from several symbolic gestures and dialectical clues, it by the end of the film becomes very apparent that the director is using Christianity as a thematic device as well to give ground to the themes of evidence, faith and truth, and soul as well as transfiguration and rebirth. These are all extremely important themes in Christianity and that religion influences the world even today because its values are fundamentally existential human concerns which align perfectly with philosophical questions. (The bible is a philosophical work, despite the cloudiness of judgment around it over time.)

Why is Christianity significant to Oshii? There are clearly several reasons as mentioned above, but I feel another formal reason that has to do with the film as well, of course is: the themes of Christianity that Oshii presents in his film are very much like the ones dealt with by the European directors that influenced him in this film, despite this film being animated. Namely Ingmar Bergman, Andrey Tarkovsky and Luis Bunuel. The basic cinematic visual choices in the pacing, cuts, dialogue and focus used in GITS support the presence of their influence on Oshii as well.

Returning to genre for exposition and “evidence” or faith as a theme in Oshii’s philosophical structure,

the presence of the Puppet Master serves as the final voice of authority to conclude what has already been demonstrated about evidence and self through every scene up until he speaks. Each and every moment of the film makes deliberate connections to demonstrate Oshii’s philosophical points ( from the mercenary being chased through the city who doesn’t know who he is to the man with false memories at the station who can’t go back to who he was and even the dive scene that follows where Motoko contemplates being someone else).

The Puppet Masters spontaneous ability to gain autonomy and will himself into being demonstrates the point made several times that existence is simultaneous reality and fantasy but a beings will or maybe even faith or hope (as discussed on the boat in the diving scene featuring another biblical scripture by the Puppet Master) is what leads one toward a higher being and with that ‘miracle’ of self creation demonstrated by the Puppet Master (almost God like in action) the viewer is to be philosophically converted in epiphany, kind of like Motoko is when she accepts him into her being. A philosophical transfiguration of the mind is supposed to take place for the viewer as Motoko transforms in the film before our eyes in a moment of “double suicide” as Batou termed it.It is a sacrifice of self toward greater existence. Yet another powerfully Christian thematic device. Its so masterfully done.

GITS is a spiritual movie about faith in existence (in ones soul) in the face of evolution (technological or otherwise). Oshii manages to “digitally” reconcile faith in future time where even bodies are no longer human and does so by defining life as memory and comparing memory to virtual reality (elusive, fearful, anxious, lonely and dark).Note that these are the same feelings the Major describes having when diving (a literal and symbolic action in the film when contemplating or diving into another mind). These emotional descriptions also describe the tone of the film itself, effectively creating a parallel between the viewers philosophical dive when watching the movie and Motokos philosophical dive in her mind under the ocean itself.

At the end of the film the Major quote 1 Corinthians 13:11. This final Christian device helps relate the viewer to this cyborg being once again by reminding us that while we were once confused during our viewing and understanding of the film in the beginning, we by now understand what was so clear from the start*.

There are many more formal discoveries to be made which is why I continue to view this movie. It makes me feel like a philosophical detective, which is probably what Oshii intended.

jonathandavidtrevino

GITS is a film about faith in ones soul in the face of technological evolution. It is a perfect marriage of themes concerning human values about existence from the past and values already developing for the future. Oshii masterfully merges themes of faith and fiction to demonstrate his philosophical points about spiritual existence in film form.

I will explain.

(It is worth noting that I have watched this movie nearly 100 times. Less than 80 but definitely over 60.)

Like any film or book (especially a philosophical book), several viewings and some formal analysis will ALWAYS lead to a better understanding of what the author intended and how.

Ghost in the Shell is not, as you say “full of plot dumps”. You will find upon extensive studying that it is written not unlike the way a philosopher writes a book.

Basically it repeats and demonstrates its points several times across scenes, as do all philosophers in their own treatise, using the structure of the arguments presented to structure the treatise itself. Using the structure to demonstrate the thesis is very convincing because it acts as an almost mathematical evidence of the thesis, also called logic (math in word form). It’s a very scientific approach because it gives the reasoning a repeatable outcome that suggest “truth”, a major theme for any philosopher, including Mamorou Oshii.

It’s clever because narrative film structure already does something similar to communicate the directors vision, but Oshii uses the film structure of GITS as an opportunity to visually demonstrate philosophical points with scenarios as evidence in a mystery/police/detective story.

These narrative and cinematic decisions Oshii makes eventually reveal something even more clever than choosing 2d animated film rather than live action to communicate a story about a “celluloid doll” with a soul: Genre. Once we understand that philosophy is an important element for this director (and this is very quickly made apparent), we can look further into the work and understand how genre reinforces his purposes here.

And the genre he uses to demonstrate his philosophical points? :a detective story where evidence (faith) is a key theme and a detective tool in the film for advancing the plot (treatise) contextually and thematically.

‘Evidence’ is a theme used to talk about faith (ie whispers in the ghost) as a means to trust in ones identity where even ones own body and environment causes doubt.

The detective genre is an exposition to simply have a philosophical discourse on ‘truth’ but it does not recklessly unfold. Detectives gradually reveal more and more of a mystery with each new discovery brought about by evidence or clues. But as new information arises, new doubts and questions arise.

It is stated in this film that when things are virtual all truth and reality comes into question because information (data) is rendered both real and fantasy at once. This would naturally make any future detective doubtful of all evidence and even ones own thoughts and intuition because at this point in the future even a soul is data that can be altered, like evidence. This is the significance of the lines where the major talks about instinct and variety with Togusa and especially the whispers in her ghost where her “leads” are based on no evidence. Then there is the moment where she doubts her own identity in the elevator before the Puppet Master introduces itself. She says to Batou that she only believes in her “self” based on her environments but if she can’t trust her environment how can she trust who she actually is? Batou shuts down her doubt and reminds her to have faith in her “ghost,” without explicitly saying this, because they have a will.

If by now it does not occur to the viewer from several symbolic gestures and dialectical clues, it by the end of the film becomes very apparent that the director is using Christianity as a thematic device as well to give ground to the themes of evidence, faith and truth, and soul as well as transfiguration and rebirth. These are all extremely important themes in Christianity and that religion influences the world even today because its values are fundamentally existential human concerns which align perfectly with philosophical questions. (The bible is a philosophical work, despite the cloudiness of judgment around it over time.)

Why is Christianity significant to Oshii? There are clearly several reasons as mentioned above, but I feel another formal reason that has to do with the film as well, of course is: the themes of Christianity that Oshii presents in his film are very much like the ones dealt with by the European directors that influenced him in this film, despite this film being animated. Namely Ingmar Bergman, Andrey Tarkovsky and Luis Bunuel. The basic cinematic visual choices in the pacing, cuts, dialogue and focus used in GITS support the presence of their influence on Oshii as well.

Returning to genre for exposition and “evidence” or faith as a theme in Oshii’s philosophical structure,

the presence of the Puppet Master serves as the final voice of authority to conclude what has already been demonstrated about evidence and self through every scene up until he speaks. Each and every moment of the film makes deliberate connections to demonstrate Oshii’s philosophical points ( from the mercenary being chased through the city who doesn’t know who he is to the man with false memories at the station who can’t go back to who he was and even the dive scene that follows where Motoko contemplates being someone else).

The Puppet Masters spontaneous ability to gain autonomy and will himself into being demonstrates the point made several times that existence is simultaneous reality and fantasy but a beings will or maybe even faith or hope (as discussed on the boat in the diving scene featuring another biblical scripture by the Puppet Master) is what leads one toward a higher being and with that ‘miracle’ of self creation demonstrated by the Puppet Master (almost God like in action) the viewer is to be philosophically converted in epiphany, kind of like Motoko is when she accepts him into her being. A philosophical transfiguration of the mind is supposed to take place for the viewer as Motoko transforms in the film before our eyes in a moment of “double suicide” as Batou termed it.It is a sacrifice of self toward greater existence. Yet another powerfully Christian thematic device. Its so masterfully done.

GITS is a spiritual movie about faith in existence (in ones soul) in the face of evolution (technological or otherwise). Oshii manages to “digitally” reconcile faith in future time where even bodies are no longer human and does so by defining life as memory and comparing memory to virtual reality (elusive, fearful, anxious, lonely and dark).Note that these are the same feelings the Major describes having when diving (a literal and symbolic action in the film when contemplating or diving into another mind). These emotional descriptions also describe the tone of the film itself, effectively creating a parallel between the viewers philosophical dive when watching the movie and Motokos philosophical dive in her mind under the ocean itself.

At the end of the film the Major quote 1 Corinthians 13:11. This final Christian device helps relate the viewer to this cyborg being once again by reminding us that while we were once confused during our viewing and understanding of the film in the beginning, we by now understand what was so clear from the start*.

Here is a lead I have for anyone reading to prove my theory on the case of this film: Music is an integral part of film for a director, especially directors like the ones that influenced Oshii: Find a translation of the main theme “Making of Cyborg”. This song alone supports the entire thesis I have presented about this film being a spiritual film about faith in ones self. But maybe this is just a whisper in my ghost…

There are many more formal discoveries to be made which is why I continue to view this movie. It makes me feel like a philosophical detective, which is probably what Oshii intended the viewer to feel.

* in the very beginning of the film when the Major is eves dropping on the conversation about Project 2501 she just barely misses the revelation about the original intention of 2501 when Batou interrupts her about the noise in her brain. Had he waited a second to interrupt, she would have know from the start what took the entire film to discover about what 2501 and the Puppet Master were really intended for. Its somewhat comical and slightly unfortunate when you go back to the start of the film and hear this, but the viewer can infer how this lack of information lead to her evolution as a self.

jonathandavidtrevino

GITS is a film about faith in ones soul in the face of technological evolution. It is a perfect marriage of themes concerning human values about existence from the past and values already developing for the future. Oshii masterfully merges themes of faith and fiction to demonstrate his philosophical points about spiritual existence in film form.

I will explain.

(It is worth noting that I have watched this movie nearly 100 times. Less than 80 but definitely over 60.)

Like any film or book (especially a philosophical book), several viewings and some formal analysis will ALWAYS lead to a better understanding of what the author intended and how.

Ghost in the Shell is not, as you say “full of plot dumps”. You will find upon extensive studying that it is written not unlike the way a philosopher writes a book.

Basically it repeats and demonstrates its points several times across scenes, as do all philosophers in their own treatise, using the structure of the arguments presented to structure the treatise itself. Using the structure to demonstrate the thesis is very convincing because it acts as an almost mathematical evidence of the thesis, also called logic (math in word form). It’s a very scientific approach because it gives the reasoning a repeatable outcome that suggest “truth”, a major theme for any philosopher, including Mamorou Oshii.

It’s clever because narrative film structure already does something similar to communicate the directors vision, but Oshii uses the film structure of GITS as an opportunity to visually demonstrate philosophical points with scenarios as evidence in a mystery/police/detective story.

These narrative and cinematic decisions Oshii makes eventually reveal something even more clever than choosing 2d animated film rather than live action to communicate a story about a “celluloid doll” with a soul: Genre. Once we understand that philosophy is an important element for this director (and this is very quickly made apparent), we can look further into the work and understand how genre reinforces his purposes here.

And the genre he uses to demonstrate his philosophical points? :a detective story where evidence (faith) is a key theme and a detective tool in the film for advancing the plot (treatise) contextually and thematically.

‘Evidence’ is a theme used to talk about faith (ie whispers in the ghost) as a means to trust in ones identity where even ones own body and environment causes doubt.

The detective genre is an exposition to simply have a philosophical discourse on ‘truth’ but it does not recklessly unfold. Detectives gradually reveal more and more of a mystery with each new discovery brought about by evidence or clues. But as new information arises, new doubts and questions arise.

It is stated in this film that when things are virtual all truth and reality comes into question because information (data) is rendered both real and fantasy at once. This would naturally make any future detective doubtful of all evidence and even ones own thoughts and intuition because at this point in the future even a soul is data that can be altered, like evidence. This is the significance of the lines where the major talks about instinct and variety with Togusa and especially the whispers in her ghost where her “leads” are based on no evidence. Then there is the moment where she doubts her own identity in the elevator before the Puppet Master introduces itself. She says to Batou that she only believes in her “self” based on her environments but if she can’t trust her environment how can she trust who she actually is? Batou shuts down her doubt and reminds her to have faith in her “ghost,” without explicitly saying this, because they have a will.

If by now it does not occur to the viewer from several symbolic gestures and dialectical clues, it by the end of the film becomes very apparent that the director is using Christianity as a thematic device as well to give ground to the themes of evidence, faith and truth, and soul as well as transfiguration and rebirth. These are all extremely important themes in Christianity and that religion influences the world even today because its values are fundamentally existential human concerns which align perfectly with philosophical questions. (The bible is a philosophical work, despite the cloudiness of judgment around it over time.)

Why is Christianity significant to Oshii? There are clearly several reasons as mentioned above, but I feel another formal reason that has to do with the film as well, of course is: the themes of Christianity that Oshii presents in his film are very much like the ones dealt with by the European directors that influenced him in this film, despite this film being animated. Namely Ingmar Bergman, Andrey Tarkovsky and Luis Bunuel. The basic cinematic visual choices in the pacing, cuts, dialogue and focus used in GITS support the presence of their influence on Oshii as well.

Returning to genre for exposition and “evidence” or faith as a theme in Oshii’s philosophical structure,

the presence of the Puppet Master serves as the final voice of authority to conclude what has already been demonstrated about evidence and self through every scene up until he speaks. Each and every moment of the film makes deliberate connections to demonstrate Oshii’s philosophical points ( from the mercenary being chased through the city who doesn’t know who he is to the man with false memories at the station who can’t go back to who he was and even the dive scene that follows where Motoko contemplates being someone else).

The Puppet Masters spontaneous ability to gain autonomy and will himself into being demonstrates the point made several times that existence is simultaneous reality and fantasy but a beings will or maybe even faith or hope (as discussed on the boat in the diving scene featuring another biblical scripture by the Puppet Master) is what leads one toward a higher being and with that ‘miracle’ of self creation demonstrated by the Puppet Master (almost God like in action) the viewer is to be philosophically converted in epiphany, kind of like Motoko is when she accepts him into her being. A philosophical transfiguration of the mind is supposed to take place for the viewer as Motoko transforms in the film before our eyes in a moment of “double suicide” as Batou termed it.It is a sacrifice of self toward greater existence. Yet another powerfully Christian thematic device. Its so masterfully done.

GITS is a spiritual movie about faith in existence (in ones soul) in the face of evolution (technological or otherwise). Oshii manages to “digitally” reconcile faith in future time where even bodies are no longer human and does so by defining life as memory and comparing memory to virtual reality (elusive, fearful, anxious, lonely and dark).Note that these are the same feelings the Major describes having when diving (a literal and symbolic action in the film when contemplating or diving into another mind). These emotional descriptions also describe the tone of the film itself, effectively creating a parallel between the viewers philosophical dive when watching the movie and Motokos philosophical dive in her mind under the ocean itself.

At the end of the film the Major quote 1 Corinthians 13:11. This final Christian device helps relate the viewer to this cyborg being once again by reminding us that while we were once confused during our viewing and understanding of the film in the beginning, we by now understand what was so clear from the start*.

Here is a lead I have for anyone reading to prove my theory on the case of this film: Music is an integral part of film for a director, especially directors like the ones that influenced Oshii: Find a translation of the main theme “Making of Cyborg”. This song alone supports the entire thesis I have presented about this film being a spiritual film about faith in ones self. But maybe this is just a whisper in my ghost…

There are many more formal discoveries to be made which is why I continue to view this movie. It makes me feel like a philosophical detective, which is probably what Oshii intended the viewer to feel.

* in the very beginning of the film when the Major is eves dropping on the conversation about Project 2501 she just barely misses the revelation about the original intention of 2501 when Batou interrupts her about the noise in her brain. Had he waited a second to interrupt, she would have know from the start what took the entire film to discover about what 2501 and the Puppet Master were really intended for. Its somewhat comical and slightly unfortunate when you go back to the start of the film and hear this, but the viewer can infer how this lack of information lead to her evolution as a self.